Trapped on a burning mountain, the Queens take refuge with akiller.Dashing detective Ellery Queen and his father are drivingover the pothole-scarred Arrow Mountain Road when they come face to face with awall of flame. They tear back in the other direction, fire at their fenders,and finally find safety in a clearing, at the home of Dr. Xavier, a renownedsurgeon. He is a genial man, but his distracted, mysterious smile conceals darksecrets. Passing through one of the drafty hallways, Ellery's father isstartled by a pair of eyes burning in the darkness-the eyes of a monster. Couldthey be trapped on some kind of mountain of Dr. Moreau? Dr. Xavier introducesthem to the rest of his household, including his wife, brother, and medicalassistant. Everyone's welcoming, but they also seem anxious and cagey. When thegood doctor is found shot to death in his study, Queen realizes that he and hisfather have more to fear than a pair of sinister eyes. The Queens might haveescaped the forest fire, but they have leapt into a situation that's every bitas hot.